M6 Toll Road Speed Limit

OK how many people on here think the M6 Toll Road is a private road and is therefore not subject to any speed limit?

All those who said ME ME ME go to the bottom of the class.

This all started when I was talking to a fellow Scooby owner in the locality who had been pulled by the police for exceeding 100mph on the said road, his excuse "It's a private road that I have to pay to use I can't see any speed limit signs therefore there isn't one"

How wrong he was, I work in the highways industry and meet with Traffic Officers working on the Midlands motorways regularly, they nick loads of motorists on the M6 Toll, all of which are under the same impression.

Asking around people I have met over the last week I was amazed to find that about 50% of those questioned have always assumed that the M6 Toll does not have a speed limit.

Can I put the record straight here, and perhaps help a few people keep their licence. The M6 Toll Road has a 70 MPH speed limit just like any other motorway, take it easy on there because as per usual the plain unmarked cars patrol it just as much as the marked cars.

Er, strictly speaking, the M6 Toll has a 70mph speed limit for the majority of it's length, but on the approach to the toll plazas it reduces significantly (and enforceably). Dunno if anyone has been nicked in these areas yet, but they sound like tasty morsels for the scameratzi!

OK how many people on here think the M6 Toll Road is a private road and is therefore not subject to any speed limit?

All those who said ME ME ME go to the bottom of the class.

This all started when I was talking to a fellow Scooby owner in the locality who had been pulled by the police for exceeding 100mph on the said road, his excuse "It's a private road that I have to pay to use I can't see any speed limit signs therefore there isn't one"

How wrong he was, I work in the highways industry and meet with Traffic Officers working on the Midlands motorways regularly, they nick loads of motorists on the M6 Toll, all of which are under the same impression.

Asking around people I have met over the last week I was amazed to find that about 50% of those questioned have always assumed that the M6 Toll does not have a speed limit.

Can I put the record straight here, and perhaps help a few people keep their licence. The M6 Toll Road has a 70 MPH speed limit just like any other motorway, take it easy on there because as per usual the plain unmarked cars patrol it just as much as the marked cars.

So are you like a under cover coper?

Who cares what speed people drive on the Toll...if they don't think a speed limit applies on the Toll, then its there own wrong doing and if they get cought...(well they deserved it)

Though personally i know of no one who has been stopped for speeding on the toll...

IIRC it was Thatcher who changed the law back in the late 80's so that traffic law covered private land. There was a bit of a tantrum over it as it could have spelt the end of motorsport as tracks would have been included, especially rallying though as it is often on public roads. Don't know whatthe legal get-out was for organised events, but speed limits certainly apply on private roads.

Speed limits apply for rallying as well. Drivers on stage rallies which use public roads to connect the stages are subject to exactly the same laws as the rest of us. (Remember a couple of years ago in South Wales where a few foreign drivers on Rally GB ended up banned from British public roads for speeding?)

Speed limits also apply for road rallies.

Unless a road is closed to other traffic the maximum speed allowed is 70.

IIRC it was Thatcher who changed the law back in the late 80's so that traffic law covered private land. There was a bit of a tantrum over it as it could have spelt the end of motorsport as tracks would have been included, especially rallying though as it is often on public roads. Don't know whatthe legal get-out was for organised events, but speed limits certainly apply on private roads.

Areas to which the public have access I believe; so a supermarket or the private access road to it; but not a racing circuit or a private road through your own land.

Areas to which the public have access I believe; so a supermarket or the private access road to it; but not a racing circuit or a private road through your own land.

I think they could probably argue that the public have access to a private road through your land unless it has a gate on it. I know it is a mad situation but...

The reason racing circuits are not covered is because they generally have gates etc. at which you are stopped and have to pay or otherwise gain admission. In that case they public don't have general access.

Again, and I post on this every winter, this is exactly the reason why it isn't safe to go play in the snow in Tescos carpark or to let an unlicensed driver "learn" to drive in a car park. They are still subject to the law as they would be on the road. What I am not sure is if the police have any right to come on to the private land to nick you or whether they have to wait until you drive out on to the public road.

I understand that but I also believe that because (assuming this is the case) there is no physical barrier to actually keep the public out then your driveway would feel the full force of the law. If you have a locked gate then the situation is different. In fact if you went into Tescos carpark and locked the only gate behind you then you would probably be in the clear, though I'm not sure what the exact situation would be when it came to pedestrians.

From my understanding of any cases I have seen the fact that there is no implied invitation is not sufficient to demonstrate that the general public have no access, you actually need to take steps to prevent them having access.

its the blooming queens highway for ***** sake, of course its got a speed limit.

The only place that dont have limits are private land and lanes(though they can still do you for reckless driving and scaring sheep) and your private off road driveway, though I find it hard to get to any illegal limit in 10 metres (but will try )

The reason racing circuits are not covered is because they generally have gates etc. at which you are stopped and have to pay or otherwise gain admission. In that case they public don't have general access.

Erm gates - Like the toll booths where you have to pay to gain admission? I presume there is toll booths, however I have never been on this road.

I was trundling along the M6 toll last year at about 85/90, got rocked by the hole in the air an X5 was leaving, it was a blue one, I think they are either the 4.6/4.8 special v8 (i.e. the fastest), it must have been doing 120 to 130, saw him pulled a bit further on, oh dear, surprisingly I didnt laugh or anything, actually felt a bit sorry for him, empathy/X5 ? I cant understand it either !

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